Newgarden reveals new likeness on Borg-Warner Trophy

05/12/2024 01:43

Josef Newgarden has unveiled his second and latest visage on the iconic Borg-Warner Trophy to commemorate his victory in last May's 108th running of the Indianapolis 500. The Team Penske-Chevrolet driver enjoyed a thrilling eight-lap duel with Arrow McLaren-Chevy's Pato O'Ward that culminated in Newgarden making a last-lap pass around the outside into Turn 3 and holding on to win by 0.3417s.

Not only did Newgarden score Penske's 20th Indy 500 victory, he became the first driver to conquer the race in consecutive years since Helio Castroneves achieved the feat, also with Penske, in 2001 and '02. This earned Newgarden a $440,000 rollover bonus from BorgWarner and brought his total winnings to $4.288m.

Newgarden revealed the likeness, sculpted by William Behrends, in a celebration hosted by IMS at CoHatch Polk Stables in downtown Indianapolis.

"The Borg-Warner Trophy is as iconic as it gets in professional sports and seeing my likeness represented on it will never get old," said Newgarden.

"When you win, you are honored an entire year, which is amazing. Getting to work with Will is a treat because he is so meticulous. As a racecar driver I can definitely relate to his attention to detail. Hopefully we can do something historic next year and we can work with him again."

Newgarden told RACER, "The big difference between this year and last was that we were quick from the word go in the Month of May. Qualifying was a totally different story for us this year, and you don't want to say it was a breeze, but we certainly had an easier time than we'd had the previous four years and Penske locked out the front row. And that changes the the way you operate on race day. It doesn't make the race easy, but if you have good car speed, your decision-making is simpler. Our racecar was very similar to what we had last year, but it was faster."

Newgarden doesn't question why O'Ward resisted the temptation to pass him into Turn 3 on the penultimate lap, and instead got him along the front straight to start the final lap.

"If there had been a yellow as we went into Turn 1, then he wins the race," he explains, "whereas if he'd passed me at Turn 3, I'd have drafted past him up the front straight and it would be me leading when the yellow comes.

“So I understand Pato's rationale: it was hard to stay with the car ahead coming through Turn 1 and off Turn 2, so he probably thought that was the best plan. But I think we came off Turn 2 very fast relative to him on the last lap, and then he made a couple of those exaggerated moves to break the tow. Those kind of moves also scrub speed, and I concentrated on minimizing scrub, I used his tow and, like I say, I think we had already come off Turn 2 quicker.

"He of course had to protect the inside line into Turn 3, and I felt we could make it stick around the outside, get the pass done but still leave him enough space on the inside. It was either going to work or it wasn't! But I wasn't not going to try something: this was my opportunity and I had to go for it."

After the race, Newgarden again went to greet the fans, but said the feelings of exhilaration were different from 2023 to '24.

"It's immense when you win this race," he said, "and you can't understand it until you go through the process. You see other people win and think, 'I know what that would be like,' and in fact you have no idea! But the magnitude of winning isn't something that slowly sinks in; it hits you in the face right away.

"But the second time was more gratifying in some ways. I think first time was probably more of a relief; it was my 12th attempt at winning Indy. This one was just more satisfying all around."

Michelle Collins, BorgWarner's global director of marketing and public relations, said: "The Borg-Warner Trophy symbolizes more than just excellence on the racetrack, it represents the time-honored traditions of the Indianapolis 500 and pays homage to the champions of the past, and I'm honored to continue the legacy of unveiling the trophy. Josef's impressive back-to-back Indy 500 wins highlight his dedication and passion to his sport, and on behalf of all of BorgWarner, we extend our sincerest congratulations to Josef and Team Penske for their achievement."

Asked by RACER if it hurt to hand over the extra $440,000 jackpot for back-to-back Indy glory, Collins joked, "Half of my budget was blown before the first half of the year was complete!" but she said she saw it coming.

"The second-to-last lap, I was in Victory Lane with BorgWarner CEO Fred Lissalde, and I said, 'I think this is going to happen.' Every year we would have the giant check printed and prepared, and remember, we had a close call last year when it looked like Marcus might repeat his win from the year before and just lost out to Josef on the last lap. This time I was pretty sure.

"But it's crazy that we've only had to pay this out one other time, and it was for much less money, because it had only been rolling over for five years, since we initiated the scheme. For it to happen again 22 years later for the sum of $440,000…. Well, our CFO was texting me shortly after that."

Collins, who has been with the company since 2013, said that whatever the outcome, she found the race thrilling, as she has become totally absorbed by the Indianapolis 500.

"What an exciting race and what an exciting finish," she said. "If you weren't a fan before that day, you certainly would be afterward, and so at BorgWarner we remain very proud to have been part of this event since the trophy's inception in 1935 and it first being awarded in '36. I think it's the longest continuous-running partnership between a sporting event and its partner, and we couldn't be prouder."

Behrends, the sculptor behind the faces of the Borg-Warner Trophy since 1990, said that even though he sculpted Newgarden's likeness last year, he began from scratch with just photographs as reference for a new life-size sculpture. Behrends then uses the life-size sculpture to craft the small model, which is a mixture of oil-based clay. The small model is then turned into a mold and cast in red wax to be sent to a jeweler for the final transformation into sterling silver. Behrends completes his process by polishing and buffing the piece before attaching it to the trophy.

Newgarden's second image is the 111th face on the sterling silver 110lbs 5ft4in Borg-Warner Trophy. This apparent anomaly between faces and number of Indy 500s run is caused by two images portraying the winning driver and passenger, and the presence of a 24-carat gold image of Tony Hulman, who owned the track from 1945 to '77.

Early next year, Newgarden will receive his second Championship Driver's Trophy, affectionately known as a Baby Borg, featuring the same sterling silver image unveiled at the event. At the same time, team owner Roger Penske will commemorate his 20th Indy 500 win by receiving a Championship Team Owner's Trophy.